Several Donnelly Provisions Included in Bipartisan Bill Aimed at Combating Opioid Abuse

Several of U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly’s provisions passed the Senate yesterday as part of bipartisan legislation that would help combat the opioid epidemic. The Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) passed with broad bipartisan support on a 99-1 vote. Donnelly’s provisions would improve access to opioid abuse treatment services and help speed up the approval of non-opioid or non-addictive treatments for pain. Other provisions in the legislation would reauthorize a state grant program that has already brought nearly $22 million to Indiana over the last two years, would help state and local governments improve prescription drug monitoring programs, and would help states increase the number of drug disposal programs. As law enforcement continues to fight the spread of fentanyl and heroin, the legislation would reauthorize and improve the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program. Donnelly has pushed to fully fund this program, which currently helps Marion, LaPorte, Lake, and Porter Counties partner with federal and local law enforcement and access federal funding to combat drug trafficking in Indiana. The bill would also provide resources to help protect officers from accidental exposure to dangerous narcotics while they are treating an overdose victim.